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(Image by Kounosu.)
Slumdog Millionaire was filmed in the Dharavi slum of Mumbai, India. "Dharavi is known as one of Asia's largest slums - about a million people live here, packed into an area that is less than one square mile. Somewhere around 50 percent of Mumbai's population lives in a slum like this one - and while there are the stories of struggling you might expect - there are also ones that might surprise you."(BBC) The slums are what people these days think of as the ghetto or like a run-down neighborhood. The housing isn't really that good, the food isn't a big supply and people are really lucky if they have cable TV, something we take for granted here in America. The slums are definitely not the best living conditions to say the least. But the housing is cheap. "Rents here can be as low as 185 rupees ($4/£2.20) per month. As Dharavi is located between Mumbai's two main suburban rail lines, most people find it convenient for work."(BBC) People in these slums have to search for jobs for what seems like forever and they don't get paid nearly anything compared to us. If the rent is $4 per month, think about what they make in a year or per hour to get just that much! "Two-thirds of India's population lives on less than $2 a day." (CBS) Think about that for a minute, "$2 a day", I'm thinking, how can that even be possible?? If we were to take a trip over to India, we would seem like billionaires! All in all, I am happy to live in America where we have so many opportunities to live a good life, make money and be happy. I'm not saying the people in India don't have those things, but I'm sure it would be a culture shocker to come over here and experience this for a change.


Sources:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/16/eveningnews/main4804798.shtml

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/world/06/dharavi_slum/html/dharavi_slum_intro.stm